DELINQUENT | C. SPRINGER

Confession

Now that you're back home, you wish you were still at the cabin. It felt like a place that you didn't have to hide anything. That no one else was worried about what you were doing or who you were.

But now that it's Monday and school is in session, you're back to feeling less than what you're worth. Sasha invited you to have lunch with the others and you agreed, but it still felt odd. Like it's not your place.

They were kind and listened when you spoke, but it seems you're going to need a little bit more time to adjust to the new normal.

"Reiner," Connie presses his hand on your lower back, pushing you towards the blonde. "Y/N has something to say."

Reiner scoffs. "I don't -"

"Hear her out," Connie sighs with slight annoyance.

You take a deep breath and gather your thoughts. "Reiner, I'm sorry about what I said to you back in grade school. I shouldn't have embarrassed you like that and I'm sure that NFL player was happy to know he had such a big fan. You're not an idiot, the essay was written very well."

There. That was easy.

Reiner furrows his eyebrows and glances at Connie. "What the hell? Why the fuck would I give a shit about something you said to me in grade school? Or at all for that matter. You mean nothing to me."

Well...

"Dude you said that's why you don't get along with her," Connie raises his voice with surprise. "Why are you such a dick to her?"

Reiner crosses his arms. "I think the real question is why are you being so nice? What happened to all those years of making fun of miss know-it-all over here?"

Connie glances at you, his hand slipping into yours. Reiner looks down and stares at your intertwined fingers.

"Oh I see," he boasts. "You finally got in her pants. I'm not paying up though, that dare was from junior year."

Connie grimaces. "Reiner, it's not like that. I like her."

"Yeah...right," Reiner starts to walk away. "The joke is over, very funny. Don't you have practice to get too? The game is tomorrow."

You stand silently, processing everything that just went on before your eyes. While you should be concerned as to why Reiner hates you so much, you can only concentrate on the fact that Connie had been dared to get into your pants.

"So..." you pull your hand from his. "...dare?"

Connie shakes his head. "No. It wasn't like that. I mean yes, I was dared to get you to sleep with me, but I refused and never even tried. I couldn't... I liked you too much to do that."

"So why did you decide to fuck me in the equipment shed during senior prank night?" You cross your arms, worried that your suspicions were right.

"That wasn't planned, so I didn't just decide to do that. It just happened," he shrugs. "I do like you. I have liked you. I guess in my mind, making fun of you was easier than admitting my feelings. I know it's stupid and fucked up, but I was afraid of what my friends and everyone else would've said if I had confessed. But I don't care about that anymore. I know it was ridiculous to think that to begin with, so I'm sorry. But I'm trying here. I really am."

You allow yourself to relax and let go of the breath you had been holding as he spoke. "I know," you look down at the ground. "I guess it's just hard for me to believe still."

"What is?"

Your eyes meet Connie's. "That you'd actually want me."

Connie and you are standing out in the courtyard. There's a few people still around even though school ended thirty minutes ago. It's easy to forget that they're there though. Right now it feels as though it's just you and Connie.